Dictionary
quan'tum the"ory
Physics.
1. any theory predating quantum mechanics that encompassed Planck's radiation formula and a scheme for obtaining discrete energy states for atoms, as Bohr theory.
2. any theory that treats certain phenomena by the methods of quantum mechanics:
a quantum theory of gravitation. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.